Top 5 advantages of freelancing with Elance from Pakistan

One of the largest online employment platforms in the world, Elance, is used by approximately 500,000 businesses and 2 million individuals, who have earned almost $700 million to date. This ‘human cloud’, as they call themselves, released statistics of the number of its users country-wise on 31st May 2013.

Pakistan stands 3rd, with a whopping 113,219 number of businesses/professionals earning their living through Elance, just behind India and the United States itself.
A lot of people these days want to start working online, but the number of scams and misguides offsets this intention, and without doubt today many people still believe online employment to be a hoax.
I’ve been working with Elance for nearly 2 years now. Here are the Top 5 advantages of earning a living with Elance in Pakistan:

1. Difference of time-zones

Although work is conducted in accordance to the Elance clock, the difference of time-zones still helps a lot in meeting deadlines and communicating with employers from other countries. Gives an extra ease to employees.

2. Simple withdrawal system

All you need to provide are the details of your local bank account and once they’re verified, money can be wired internationally into it with extreme ease.

3. Safe and secure Tax-free earning

Due to the conditions in the country these days, earning big means coming into the eyes of the bad guys. The best one can do here is to sit at home and work your living through, which is not taxed by the government either. Just the rates of transactions via banks apply.

4. Difference of Currency rates

For a third world country like Pakistan, earning in the form of a foreign medium of exchange (for instance the $), is extremely profitable. You can negotiate and put up the best work rates on offer by people on Elance from all over the world, and still earn a handsome amount in your own currency.

5. Minimal fraud/scam/conflict

The structure of the work environment on Elance is such that it minimizes such mishaps to an extent I’ve found no other freelancing website doing. I’ve been working with Elance for 2 years (approximately 60 jobs so far), and have never once encountered such an issue. Funding of payments, date schedules and work terms are organized on Elance.